British PM praises AfDB, Kaberuka for Africa infrastructure work

British Prime Minister David Cameron has praised the African Development Bank (AfDB) and President Donald Kaberuka for pioneering initiatives to scale the continent’s infrastructure development.

Cameron spoke in London on Saturday, June 15, 2013 at a meeting he convened to discuss the G8 agenda of trade, transparency and fair taxation with African political and financial leaders. The Presidents of Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania and Somalia, as well as the finance minister of Nigeria were among those who attended the high-level event at Lancaster House.

Prime Minister Cameron praised the African Development Bank for its work in growing intra-African trade and investing in infrastructure.

“So let’s back African countries in achieving their goal of doubling intra-African trade by 2022. Let’s back Africa in ending the crazy bureaucracy that means a trucker taking goods from Cape Town to Kigali has to carry up to 1,000 documents,” Cameron said.

“And let’s back Africans on infrastructure – where they have a point when they say it was largely designed in another era and primarily focused on getting products out of the continent rather than promoting trade within it,” Cameron added.

“So let’s get behind President Kaberuka’s work through the African Development Bank to secure the private finance that can deliver the infrastructure that is so badly needed.”